I've been a salesgirl, a lifeguard, and even a chambermaid. But a cocktail waitress – now that's where the money is … until it isn't.

It was 2001 and I was 22, just out of college with mounting bills and a struggling writing career. Hustling drinks at New York City's Bryant Park Café was a sweet deal that was bringing in some heavy duty change … until the broiling heat of July and August hit the city. With virtually every patron escaping into air-conditioned establishments, there were weeks where there wasn't a dollar to be seen. With rent due and utilities to pay, there were many servers and bartenders alike that wished we were being paid more than the subminimum wage of $5/hour.

Since then, not much has changed. While there are states like California and Alaska that pay tipped workers the full federal minimum wage, most states – including Massachusetts – only require business owners to pay tipped workers a subminimum wage. That's because, ideally, gratuities should offset that lower hourly wage. But with the ever-rising cost of living, and customers choosing to dine at home, the question remains: Should servers and bartenders be paid the same wage as everyone else?

Ryan Benoit of Centerville, a server at the Ocean House in Dennis Port, said that while raising the subminimum wage sounded like a “terrific idea,” he wasn't so sure it would work in a seasonal environment like Cape Cod.

“I would, of course, make more money considering all else stays constant but if receiving a (full) minimum wage replaced tipping completely, I am afraid I would probably be filing bankruptcy soon after,” Benoit said. “It would help to cover taxes and social security – because I'm left with a very large tax deficit at the end of the year, but I plan for this by saving during the 11 weeks of summer that we are exponentially busy to compensate for that.”

Because Benoit works in Massachusetts, he is paid $2.63 an hour – while the full federal minimum wage is $8an hour. The full minimum wage has been raised several times over the last 20 years and is set to increase in 2016 to $11 an hour, but the sub-minimum wage hasn't grown since 1991. This is because of amendments made almost 50 years ago to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which held that the subminimum hourly wage should be half the regular minimum wage.

According to the Department of Labor, the legislation, which established many of the basic labor protections like a 40-hour workweek, overtime protection, and a national minimum wage, affects 1.4 million people who are receiving $2.13 an hour plus tips and another 2 million receiving between $2.13 and the federal minimum wage, plus tips.

Steve Roy, owner of Fresh Ketch Seafood 'n Steak Restaurant and 586 Bistro & Bar – both in Hyannis – said he would gladly pay his tipped workers more, but there are “factors to be considered.”

“I understand it from the point of view of a server – especially for young people trying to live here. The cost of living is high and if there is a slow night, it can be costly for them,” Roy said. “I also know that I work in an industry where things are costing more – like my lights, my product. And as long as costs continue to increase – from my employees, to steaks, to scallops – how do I offset that? Do I charge $40 for a plate of food? I would need to charge more for my product or lower my overhead and my payroll, which would leave some of my staff out of work, and I would never want to do that. It's a tough predicament.”

According to “Twenty-Three Years and Still Waiting for Change,” a 2014 wage income and wealth report written by economists Sylvia A. Allegretto and David Cooper, Roy is spot on when it comes to an ever-rising cost of living – here on the Cape and across the country. With the economy improving but still not at its former height, the report indicates that many tipped workers rely on public assistance to survive. Instead of being able to afford things on their own they have largely turned to food stamps, or housing vouchers – and, for Cape seasonal workers, unemployment. Benoit, who has had to apply for unemployment at the end of the season before, said it can become “a vicious cycle.”

“Many of us play the 'catch-up game,' as we call it. We take everything we make in the beginning of the season to pay off credit card debts we accumulated over the winter, and the second part of the season we save everything to get us by before we use credit again,” Benoit said. “Many seasonal employees do go on unemployment for a short period. Others follow the seasons and go to other winter resorts. Again, this cycle gets old after a while.”

So how can increasing the subminimum wage help keep employees from turning to public assistance? It has worked in other parts of the country – especially in California where tipped workers are paid the full minimum wage at $9/hour. According to “Waiting for Change,” tipped workers in states that don't have a subminimum wage are better off, with higher total wages and lower poverty rates. But with the seasonal clientele on the Cape, Roy worries that business owners here could suffer, placing an excessive financial burden on businesses still rebounding from a drowning economy, as well as adding more stress in the already excessively competitive Cape restaurant scene.

“Cape Cod is unique. For example, when I first opened Fresh Ketch 10 years ago, scallops were $4 a pound. Today they are $15 a pound. That's due to fishing regulations, supply and demand,” Roy said. “With a raise in minimum wage, eventually we would need to increase our prices – which are already competitive from restaurant to restaurant. In 2005, things were great, real estate was great, people were spending money, and then we went on a decline. There are less people vacationing and it would be tough for business owners if we needed to pay our workers more.”

Interestingly enough, Benoit, who has been a server in California and received the full minimum wage prefers the subminimum wage and gratuity system.

“For some reason, the Northeast seems to be the most generous and contentious population of diners I have encountered. The majority of us tip 20 percent – while that does depend on the person and service experience. Being a tipped worker is the only profession that I know of that individuals can decide whether or not you are to be paid for that work at their own discretion – but somehow it works,” Benoit said. “I personally found that when I received the (full) minimum wage in California, my tips were much lower than they are in the Northeast, so I definitely prefer the 20 percent gratuity and lower minimum wage.”

With eight states soon passing new legislation to increase the regular minimum wage, there is a trend that shows promise for an increase in the subminimum wage. And in that case, Roy said he will just need to be ready when and if the time comes.

“It's summertime on Cape Cod and you go out there some nights and it's just not as vibrant as it used to be. There aren't a lot of young people here – or people in general out there vacationing and spending money. And that has to do with how expensive it is to live and work here and I know something needs to be done to change that,” he said. “So when the time comes, I'm just going to have to pay my workers more, continue to pay them fairly, and just roll with the punches and figure out a way for my restaurant to survive.”

Rachael Devaney is a Cape Cod Times columnist. She can be reached at rachaeldevaney@yahoo.com.